Eliminating challenges related to processing of import and export cargo that have impacted on Kenya’s business climate and global competitiveness remains a key plank of the government’s transformative agenda. SHARE THIS STORY inShare This is more so on international and cross border trade where Kenya is undertaking robust reforms at the ports and border points through ongoing digitisation and automation on our trade transaction processes. A key solution is the Single Window System, the online cargo clearance platform known in Kenya as the Kenya TradeNet System and which was launched in May 2014. Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) is the state agency mandated to implement and manage this complex and cross cutting project which has integrated with Systems of regulatory and permit issuing agencies known as Partner Government Agencies (PGAs). These include Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate, Port Health Services, Kenya Police and Pharmacy and Poison Board. Among the new innovations that KenTrade hopes to leverage on to boost trade facilitation through the Kenya TradeNet System is the Integrated Customs Management System(iCMS) launched by our key partner agency, Kenya Revenue Authority. Radically improve The new System is expected to replace the Simba System which has been in use in the country over the last 10 years or so. However it is important to note that this is a government initiative meant to radically improve on the user experience of clearing cargo through our ports and border points. READ: KRA in plans...

Kenyan farmers have stepped up export of maize encouraged by record prices in Tanzania, worsening the cereal shortage locally that has seen flour prices begin to rise. SHARE THIS STORY inShare Latest market data indicates that 145 tonnes of maize have been shipped to Tanzania through Isebania border in the last 30 days alone as farmers seek better prices in the regional market. Data prepared by the Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network (Ratin) shows that a 90-kg bag of maize currently retails at Sh4,898 in Dar es Salaam, the highest unit price in East Africa. The same quantity of maize currently fetches between Sh2,500 to Sh3,510 in Nairobi, an average of Sh2,661 in Kampala and Sh4,597 in Burundi. The Ratin report shows that the majority of Kenyan farmers are opting to ferry their produce all the way to Dar es Salaam in search of higher returns. This comes just one day after Kenya millers warned that the price of maize flour would increase in coming weeks following a grain shortage, putting pressure on households that depend on the cereal as a major source of food. “The supplies of maize have been tight in the market and millers are unable to get enough stocks, this situation would see the price of flour go up in the coming weeks,” an official of the Cereal Millers Association told the Business Daily in a previous interview. Falling since Sept The two-kilogramme packet of maize flour has increased by an average of Sh5 over the...

Kampala — The Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) has called for waiving of work permits fees within the East African Community (EAC) because they impede free movement of labour and services within the region. Speaking at their annual general meeting in Mukono last week, Mr Nicholas Okwir, the FUE board chairman, said continued issuance of work permits shows that laws regarding movement of workers and services within the EAC have not been harmonised. "We have been focusing on the activities over the last 12 months. We held a meeting of the East African Federations of Employers and it was observed that much as the region is looking at achieving the common market protocol, focusing on work permits is critical on the movement of labour and skills," he said, adding that whereas some members such as Kenya and Uganda have waived the fees, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have not. According to Rosemary Ssenabulya, the chairperson East African Federation of Employers, much as trade had been given prominence in the integration process, the ministers in charge of labour do not regularly meet to discuss such issues. Source: The Monitor

Representatives from the International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva, currently working with African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF) along with a representative from Tanzania visited Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) on Tuesday for a preliminary discussion on investment opportunities in the garment sector in selected East African countries. The countries for which the delegation sought investments are Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania under the project called “Supporting India's Trade Preferences for Africa (SITA)”, the TEA said in a press release. On behalf of TEA, V. Elangovan, Executive Committee Member and Arun Ramasamy, Chairman, Young TEA participated in the meeting. Elangovan informed the delegation about TEA, Tirupur exports and the role of TEA in the growth of exports. He also pointed out the higher customs tariff prevailing in African countries and investment made by a TEA member in Ethiopia recently. Ramasamy told the delegation about his experiences in exporting to the Pepco Brand in Africa. According to the release, the ITC's Belinda Edmonds said they would come back again after two months to meet more exporters and invite them make investment in East African countries. (SH). Source: Fibre2Fashion

South Sudan will Thursday officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs treaties to join the regional bloc. President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and his Tanzania counterpart John Magufuli who doubles up as the EAC chairman, are scheduled to sign the accession treaty in Dar es Salaam, weeks after Heads of State from the bloc approved the admission of the country that is just getting out of a civil unrest. “The summit then designated the chairperson, his excellency President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of the United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan,” the EAC secretariat said ahead of the Friday ceremony. Flags of East African Community member states. South Sudan will on April 14, 2016 officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs treaties to join the regional bloc. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP Flags of East African Community member states. South Sudan will on April 14, 2016 officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs treaties to join the regional bloc. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP The signing will set in motion South Sudan’s assimilation into the regional bloc that is currently at a common market stage. In line with the treaty, the country will be required to immediately open up its borders for exchange of goods as well as labour and capital. South Sudan will also...

His Excellencies Presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit of the Republic of South Sudan and Dr John Magufuli of Tanzania are therefore scheduled to sign the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community (EAC) on Friday, April 15, 2016 in Dar es Salaam City, according to Mr Richard Owora Othieno, the Head of Corporate Communications at the Arusha- based EAC Secretariat. During their 17th Ordinary Summit held on March 2 here in Arusha, the EAC Heads of State received the report of the Council of Ministers on the negotiations for the admission of the Republic of South Sudan into the Community and decided to admit the Republic of South Sudan as a new member. The Summit then designated the Chairperson, His Excellency President Dr John Magufuli of The United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan, which becomes the 6th member of the regional bloc which was revived in 1999 after the collapse of the original community in 1977. Other members of the EAC include the founding three -- Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania -- as well as Rwanda and Burundi that joined later in 2007. The admission of South-Sudan to the Arusha pivoted EAC now paves way to its neighbour, further north at Khartoum, to also be considered to become the seventh member of the regional grouping which was revived back in 1999. It was actually North Sudan, headquartered at Khartoum, which was first to apply to...

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir will sign the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community (EAC) on Friday April 15th.In a statement released this morning, the East African Secretariat has said the ceremony will be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The event follows the approval by the 17th Ordinary Summit held on 2nd March, 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania, where EAC Heads of State admitted the Republic of South Sudan as a new member. The Summit then designated the Chairperson Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of The United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan. South Sudan Vice President James Wani Igga who represented the country at the EAC meeting in which South Sudan was admitted into the trade bloc has expressed optimism that the inclusion into the community will improve health, education, taxation, ICT, peace and security, migration, industrialization, agriculture and rural development for Africa’s youngest nation. Source: Star Africa

The leader of the newly admitted member of the East African Community (EAC) will, on Friday, sign on the EAC Treaty allowing his country officially commence active membership, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “Presidents Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan and Dr John Pombe Magufuli, of Tanzania and the Chairperson of the East African Community Heads of State Summit, are scheduled to sign the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community on Friday,” a joint statement from the EAC Secretariat and Tanzania Information Services (TIS) reads in part. The decision to admit South Sudan as the sixth member of the EAC was agreed during EAC Heads of State Summit in Arusha, Tanzania in March. The seventeenth Ordinary Heads of State Summit admitted South Sudan to the Community after more than three years of negotiations. The new EAC member however still needs support to be able to gradually implement all the requisite membership instruments. Provisions that were part of its admission include a transition period of three years before implementing the Customs Union. South Sudan was also allowed three years to move toward full implementation of the Common Market Protocol. South Sudan applied to join the EAC on June 10, 2011, shortly after gaining independence from Sudan. The admission of Africa’s youngest nation to the EAC means that the bloc’s market size is now 162 million people, up from 145.5 million. Juba’s bid to join the Community had suffered a setback following the mid...

Standard Bank is hosting the East Africa Trans-Regional Conference in Kenya, Nairobi from 11 to 14 April 2016 to facilitate business development between clients from the East Africa region and South Africa. Targeted at clients who have an interest in expanding their operations or partnering with businesses within the East Africa region, the conference will provide delegates with an overview of commerce and industry in East Africa, while presenting opportunities for access to the market and business development. Over three days, seventy of Standard Bank’s business banking clients from, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa will take advantage of networking opportunities in a guided and informative environment. Dr Manessah Alagbaoso, Head of Commercial Banking at Standard Bank Rest of Africa says this is the first of a series of inter-Africa trade conferences aimed at facilitating business development. “The event underlines our commitment as Standard Bank to create effective partnerships for our clients in the region and across the continent.” Dr Alagbaoso adds that it was critical for Standard Bank, in its commitment to intra-regional, to create additional value for business banking clients by assisting them to identify services they could access, match them with much needed expertise and provide financing solutions. Standard Bank, as Africa’s largest bank, has an established and on-the-ground presence in East Africa. “We are committed to the East Africa region as indicated by our established presence in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and recent expansion into Ethiopia. Our sector expertise and in-depth local knowledge...

The East African Community (EAC) is now successfully asserting itself as a regional trading bloc. Trade volume may have increased but dreams of monetary union are still far-fetched. Uganda's President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (front L3), Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (R3), Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta (R2) and the host Tanzania's President John Magufuli (C) attend the 17th EAC Heads of State Summit in Tanzania's northern city of Arusha, March 2, 2016 Photo by: Xinhua "Between 2005 and 2014, trade within the East African Community (EAC) increased by 300 percent," Dirk Smelty, business consultant with the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture told DW. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda formed the EAC in 2000 and introduced a customs union five years later. Burundi and Rwanda joined the union in 2007. The customs union is promoting trade and is going from strength to strength. The EAC reported that in 2005 Kenya recorded imports worth $3.5 million (3.8 million euros)and exports valued at 5.8 million dollar. By 2014 imports had doubled to $6 million and exports tripled to $18.3 million. Uganda also doubled its exports in the same period and its imports nearly tripled. Tanzania however made the biggest leap by quadrupling its exports. Trade in Rwanda and Burundi however remained low. Chinesen bauen Straßen in Kenia Several EAC projects still remain unfinished due to logistical challenges The three driving forces: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda According to Smelty, trade within the EAC is mainly benefiting countries with stronger economies including Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. "Kenya...